Das Speedball Kalligraphie Set im Test
und Geschenkpapier verzieren ///
Testing the Speedball Calligraphy Kit
and decorating gift wrapping paper
* Werbung / Advertising
Sollte man mich fragen, was eine meiner Lieblingsbeschäftigungen ist, würde ich spontan wahrscheinlich "Geschenke verpacken" sagen. Ihr wisst schon, ich verpacke Geschenke wirklich sehr gerne und bin immer auf der Suche nach neuen Ideen und Materialien.
Should someone ask me what one of my favorite activity is I would spontaneously say "wrapping gifts". You know that I really like to wrap gifts and I always look after new ideas and materials.
When I received the Complete Calligraphy Kit from the US company Speedball (that you probably know through stamp carving blocks and that I met on the Creativeworld fair) in order to test it, I was not thinking at gift wrapping yet... I wanted to see what the kit contained and how the quality is.
Im Set enthalten sind zwei Federhalter (gerade und oblique), Feder (C2 - breit und 512 - schmal), 12 ml schwarze Tusche und 12 ml Federreiniger, ein Kalligraphie-Stift, ein 50 Seiten Block (liniert) und das Textbook. In der Beschreibung stand, dass nur eine schmale Feder enthalten ist, dabei waren aber drei :-).
You can find two penholder (classic and oblique), nibs (C2 broad edge nib, 512 flexible point nib), 12 ml black ink and 12 ml pen cleaner, a black calligraphy marker, a 50 sheet pad (with lines) and the Textbook. The "table of content" mentioned only one flexible point nib, but there were 3 of them in the box :-).
I looked at the book first. This here is the centennial edition - the Textbook has been published since 1915 and was updated over and over again. It is divided in seven chapters: "Alphabet Styles", xxx, the first three chapters are the most elaborate ones.
Sehr interessiert habe ich mir das erste Kapitel angeschaut, es sind wirklich sehr nützliche Tipps darin enthalten, zumindest für mich als Anfänger. Ich nehme an, Fortgeschrittene werden schon viele dieser Infos schon kennen, ich finde das Buch aber dennoch gut, weil alle Infos an einer Stelle zusammengefasst sind und man kann es immer wieder als Referenz benutzen. Das Buch gibt es wohl nur auf Englisch, es gibt aber sehr viele Zeichnungen, so dass man es auch so verstehen kann, wenn man die Sprache nicht sehr gut beherrscht.
The first chapter interested me most, there are really useful tips in it, at least for me as a beginner. Even if I suppose advanced user would know most of these tips, I still believe the Textbook is a good idea because all the information is gathered in one place and can be used as a reference again and again. The book is only available in English, but it contains a lot of illustrations, so one can understand it even if one doesn't speak the language so well.
Es werden viele Alphabete bzw. Schriften und Schriftarten gezeigt und bei den meisten steht auch die Reihenfolge, mit Zahlen und Pfeilen versehen, in der man die Striche der einzelnen Buchstaben ziehen soll.
Many alphabets / fonts or typefaces are being presented and the sequence in which to draw the lines of the letters is given for most of those fonts.
Außerdem gibt es diverse Beispiele von Schilder- und Kreide-Lettering - sehr "in" zur Zeit - und dekorative Buchstaben, Bordüren und Initialien.
There are also different examples for sign and chalk lettering - very "in" at the moment - and decorative letters, borders and initials.
I wanted to have a closer look at the nibs, the penholder and the marker before I tested examples and exercises from the book. Both penholder are made of a synthetic material but feel good in the hand. I've only used wooden penholder until now, I think they are a little more stable in the hand, but I actually had no problems with the Speedball penholder. Until now I didn't use oblique penholder, but I heard that they are much better than the classic ones, even if we are all used to write with "normal" pens. I have drawn several lines first - downward, upward, horizontal, vertical and curved.
Am besten gefällt mir die breite Feder, da sind die Unterschiede zwischen dicke und dünne Linien am deutlichsten. Die schmale Feder ist schon sehr fein und sicherlich gut, um damit zu zeichnen. Der Stift hat keine runde Spitze, wie bei den normalen Stiften, sondern eine Kalligraphie-Spitze, so dass man damit sowohl feine, als auch breitere Linien ziehen kann. Sicherlich eine durchaus gute Alternative, wenn man gerade keine Feder und Tusche parat hat.
The broad edge nib is the one I liked most, you can clearly see the difference between thick and thin lines. The flexible point nib is quite thin and delicate and probably good for drawing. The marker has no round tip but a calligraphy one, so one can draw both thin and thicker lines with it. This certainly is a good alternative if one doesn't have a nib and a penholder ready.
This is an example of how the nibs in the kit can write. In this case I like the writing with the thin nib better, perhaps this kind of typeface is not so suitable for the broad edge nib. By the way, one can use both nibs with both penholder. About the ink: it is not too thick (I had problems with other inks which dried too fast on the nib), but it could be more of it in the bottle. I had some problems because my lines where too thick when dipping the nib in the ink again, there was too much ink of it, but I had this problems with all inks I used before and I really am a beginner and this probably is only a matter of practicing, like everything else, too.
I used to wash and dry my nibs after writing until now, so they can't get rusty, but I find the little bottle with the pen cleaner substance very convenient. I would still dry the nib after cleaning it, though.
As I mentioned before, the sequence of the lines in the letters is shown for many fonts, so I picked myself one and started writing it with the broad edge nib. I really don't know if I used the correct angle for the letters (the horizontal and slant lines - as used in the exercise pad - are not much shown in the book), but I have tried and am pleased with the result for now. Practice creates masters... Anyway, I think indicating the sequence of the lines is a very good idea, I would have drawn some letters differently.
Das Papier des Blocks ist fein, die breite Feder gleitet gut darauf, die schmale war mir ein ganz bisschen zu kratzig, vielleicht hatte ich aber auch nicht den richtigen Winkel erwischt.
The paper in the pad is nice, the broad nib is slides nice on it, the thin one was just a little scratchy to me, but I probably had a wron angle by holding it.
While testing all these materials it occurred to me that one can use calligraphy nibs not only for beautiful writing, but also for drawing. I have several very detailed drawings my father did with nibs and ink, but I'll have to learn how to hold the penholder correctly and practice a lot until I can reach his level. This is why I started drawing these easy graphic patterns on white paper, that I wanted to use for gift wrapping.
Ich habe drei verschiedene Muster gezeichnet: mit der schmalen Feder matrix-artige Linien und Pusteblumen-Samen, mit der breiten Feder einigermaßen parallele, schräge Linien in einem chevron-ähnlichen Muster. Das Ganze muss jedenfalls sehr gut getrocknet sein, bevor man das als Geschenkpapier verwendet - gerade bei den dicken Linien dauert es ein bisschen länger. Die Regelmäßigkeit der gezogenen Striche und der Handbewegung macht daraus eine sehr entspannende Übung, für mich war das zumindest so.
I have drawn three different patterns: matrix-like lines and dandelion seeds with the flexible nib and somewhat parallel and slant lines in a chevron like style with the broad edge nib. Everything must dry very well until using it as gift wrapping paper. The evenness of the drawn lines and of the hand gestures meant a very relaxing exercise for me.
The gifts are wrapped now, they can be let "pure" or decorated with little details and also bakers twine or ribbons. I decided to use a contrast color - neon pink - I think it looks quite nice on the black and white patterns.
I would have liked to find white ink in the Calligraphy Kit, too (because I like to use it on dark paper), but all in all I can recommend this set, it is perfect especially for beginners. Everything one needs is in the box, one just has to get started. Advanced users would probably use handmade, wooden penholder or other paper, but they will also find interesting tips and information in the Textbook. By the way, there are more ink colors, several penholders and nibs in the "Collectors Set", which comes in a nice wooden box.
Dieses Set kann man z. B. hier
You can buy this set for example here** on amazon.de or the separate Textbook here**. Both the set and the standalone Textbook will be sent directly from the US, so allow some time for the delivery.
Habt Ihr schon Erfahrungen mit Feder und Tusche gesammelt? Wie benutzt Ihr gerne Kalligraphiefeder, lieber nur zum Schreiben oder auch zum Zeichnen? Was für Muster würdet Ihr auf Papier zeichnen, damit Ihr schönes Geschenkpapier bekommt?
Did you gather experience with nibs and ink already? How do you like to use calligraphy nibs, only for lettering or also for drawing? What patterns would you draw to get beautiful gift wrapping paper?
* This blogpost is a result of the cooperation with Speedball, USA. Many thanks for the set which was made available to me, I had a lot of fun testing it in detail! Speedball allowed to make pictures of the Textbook. All the pictures, the text and the opinion are, as always, my own.
** Amazon Affiliate Partnerlink
Link: Handmade on Tuesday
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